Our First Visitor, Rob Jawns!

We had our first Zurich visitor around mid-July, Rob!  He has been spending the summer at Grenoble, France, doing an internship at Minatec (Micro and Nanotechnology Innovation Centre).  He decided to make the long trip to Zurich for his cousin's rowing competition and to visit family in town.  Oh, and maybe spend some time with us!  

Since it was his first time here, we went for two signature Swiss items:  Sausage and Chocolate!

Rob posing for a picture.  He reluctantly complies.

For chocolate, it's off to Confiserie Sprüngli.  On the way, we walked along the famous Bahnhofstrasse, Zurich's main downtown street and home of some of the world's most expensive and exclusive shops.

A white peach tea, cafe latte and a cold glass of chocolate milk for me.   By the way, that glass of chocolate milk was 6.50 CHF (Yikes!  Rob got a nice introduction to Swiss prices quickly)

Rob's uncle was kind enough to invite us over for dinner at his fabulous home in Altstetten (Zurich Kreis 9).  We were so humbled by his family's generosity and had a wonderful evening.

The next day, we met with Rob for Sunday brunch at a new restaurant, Gran Cafee Motta!

Motta is a Milan-inspired coffee house sitting right in the middle of the Limmat River.

No meal is complete without coffee. Rob and I were supremely jealous of the cafe latte in comparison to our tiny espresso shots.  

Open-faced sandwich with roasted vegetables in a tomato sauce.

Open-faced sandwich with ham and egg.

Rob has been very patient with all of my photo taking.

We made our way to three different churches in Zurich:  St. Peter's Church, Fraumünster and Grossmünster.  

Built in 1534, St. Peter's Church apparently has the largest church clock face in Europe (8.7 meters = 28.5 feet).  Currently owned by the Swiss Reformed Church (Reformed branch of Protestantism in the 1520s).

Beautifully detailed interior.

The church organ and ceiling.

Fraumünster is built on the remains of a former abbey for women aristocrats.  We could not take pictures inside, but this building has 5 large stunning stain glass windows designed by Marc Chagall.

Grossmünster is a Romanesque and Gothic-style cathedral.  According to legend, it was founded by Charlemagne.  The twin towers are a recognized landmark in Zurich.  Photos are not allowed inside, but for a small fee, you can climb the tower and get impressive views of the city of Zurich.

To end our quick tour of Zurich, we took a water taxi back to the main train station so Rob could catch the return train to Grenoble.

Such a squat boat!  Why, you ask?

Because it travels up and down the Limmat River and has to go underneath very narrow bridges!

While it was a short trip for Rob (he arrived Saturday afternoon and left Sunday afternoon), we hope he will revisit with Xiaowen and stay a little longer!

Thanks for reading!

-Herr Cervelat

Living in 13 meters squares (140 square feet)

Up until recently, the Swiss Ms. and I have been sharing an apartment in Thalwil with Kevin, a fellow post-doc in my group.  We had hoped to find a place before Kevin's family moved back from the US in early August, but it proved to be but a dream.  Finding housing in Zurich is extremely challenging, time consuming and competitive.  

Fortunately, there seems to be no shortage of business apartments in Zurich.  Since we had become accustomed to the rejection from so many housing applications, it was a pleasant surprise to get the first one we wanted.  

Vision Apartments: They say yes when others say no.

We settled on a cozy thirteen meter squared apartment in Aussersihl, located in the city of Zurich in Kreis 4.  We do miss the view of the mountains and the lake, but there are many more things to do in Zurich than in Thalwil.  Multiple restaurants and cafes are within walking distance, and a short tram ride can take us anywhere downtown.  It's certainly a much different neighborhood than before, but we welcome the chance to explore a new place.



The apartments come fully furnished with a bed, full bathroom and kitchen (with sink, cooking utensils, stovetop, microwave and oven).  How do they do that?  Swiss efficiency.

Everything you need in the kitchen, packed into that small, vertical space.  Note the all important espresso machine!

Fully furnished kitchen.

A small refrigerator with a tiny freezer compartment.

Surprisingly posh bathroom, which comes with soap, shampoo, and conditioner.

They even replace the bath towels twice a week.

Bedding is replaced once a week.  (That bed takes up a good portion of our precious floor space).

She can't believe how small everything is packed in here.  (For reference, she is 5 feet 4 inches tall).  Now imagine this space with our 6 suitcases.

Given such a small kitchen, I wondered how we were going to manage meals on a daily basis.  Well, leave it to the Swiss Ms. to make the most of the situation.

small kitchen = daily quick fire challenge

You can't stop her!

She continues to deliver!

Polenta and ratatouille?  Yes please!

Glamour shot of the beautifully made meal.

Nothing like a warm bowl of oatmeal with fresh peaches.

We also received a little help from my cousin, who sent us a care package from Korea to help tide us over when we're craving something spicy and instant. 

It's a mix of dried squid, a variety of instant noodles (Japagetti, Shin Ramen, Naengmyeon), Marinated Sesame Leaves [Ggaenip” (깻잎)], dried anchovies [Myeol-chee (멸치)], and different Korean cookies and sweets.  Thank you Youna! 

Preparing some Japagetti (짜파게티), courtesy of Youna's care package.

A delicious combination of dehydrated 짜장 (Jajang, a black fried sauce) and 스파게티(spaghetti).  I swear it tastes good.  (Swiss Ms: BRAINS!!)

I will confess that the "oven" has given us some trouble.  It's an odd combination of a microwave/grill/oven.  It can't decide what it is and sucks at all three.

The rare occasion I buy meat in Switzerland, when it's heavily discounted!

While living at Kevin's place in Thalwil, the oven cooked the meat beautifully.

The "oven" at Vision Apartments?  Not so good.  I even had it on the "grill" setting!  As such, we have not been able to bake anything, which really saddens the Swiss Ms.

On the bright side, my commute to ETH in now shorter!  While living in Thalwil, my commute would range from approximately 30 to 40 minutes.  However, in Aussersihl, my commute is never longer than 20 minutes!  

Meanwhile, the permanent housing search continues...

Thanks for reading!

-Herr Cervelat

Bio-Bay Tour and the Old Forts in Puerto Rico!!!

For this post, we'd like to talk about Puerto Rico, where I joined my good friends, Adam and Courtney, for their beautiful destination wedding!  While there, we visited the Bioluminescent Bay in Fajardo and the Forts of Old San Juan.

There they are, the happy couple!

Bioluminescent Bay:

We left from Marina Puerto Del Rey aboard a catamaran to the island of Vieques   The ride was so bumpy that even sitting still was extremely difficult.

The Catamaran safely docked in V

After the harrowing boat ride, we boarded vans en route to a local restaurant for dinner.  On the menu: mofongo!

Drenched from the boat, but hungry for dinner.

A delicious plate of Mofongo, mashed fried-plantains mixed with vegetables and meat.

We were then whisked away via school bus to Mosquito Bay, where we transferred to silent electric motor pontoon boat.  Our tour guide gave a short introduction about the micro-organisms and other wildlife found in the bioluminescent bay.  Water was brought on board in buckets so we could run our hands through the water and watch the microorganisms light up!

The unique glow is caused by a physio-chemical reaction from the single-celled dinoflagellate organism.  These creatures glow a bright blue-green as a defense mechanism when they are disturbed or scared, and appear like fireflies in the water.  The unique climate and conditions of Mosquito Bay allow them to thrive.

The night sky was incredibly clear allowing us to see the cloud of the Milky Way and many smaller stars that are typically not visible in the presence of the light pollution.  With the bio bay glowing under the boat and the night sky glittered with stars, we just soaked it all in.  The flash of a camera is blinding in the darkness, so there are no pictures to share.  


Forts at Old San Juan:

We had some time to explore Old San Juan before the wedding.  We began our day at Café Cuatro Sombras, for breakfast.

The Cuatro Sombras Sandwich - black forrest ham, lettuce, tomato, mayo and a garlic and cheese spread.

Tostadas - Guava butter on "Pan de Agua" (Special Puerto Rican Water Bread)

Afterwards, we strolled to the Forts of Old San Juan, appreciating the unique architecture of the town.

The Swiss Ms. had previously stayed here and highly recommends it.

Blue streets of San Juan.

El Tótem Telúrico in Old San Juan, a controversial monument built in 1992 commemorating the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World.

Colorful buildings like these (and El Convento) line the streets of Old San Juan.

We walked to El Morro, a 16th century fortress strategically placed to defend the port of San Juan and control entry into the harbor.  During Spanish rule of the island between 1539 to 1898, El Morro survived multiple attacks from foreign powers. 

El Morro!  

 

The formidable entrance to El Morro.

The San Juan Cemetery resides along the outskirts of El Morro Fort.  The colorful dome is named for Saint Mary Magdalene of Pazzis, and is surrounded by ornate headstones, statues, and monuments.

On the lookout for invaders in one of the many sentry towers.

From left to right, the (1) Cross of Burgundy Flag, known as las Aspas de Borgoña widely used by Spanish armies around the world between 1506 to 1785.  (2)  Puerto Rican Flag.  (3)  USA.

El Morro is divided into six levels.  This is a view of the fort from one of the lower levels.

This is the view of the harbor.  Puerto Rico has no shortage of breathtaking views. 

From here, we were recommended by a one of the Park rangers to go to El Jibarito for lunch.  

We were very impressed, to say the least!

Fricase de cabrito - goat stew.  (Ms: Looks yuck, tastes yum.)

Bacalao a la vizcaina - Cod Fish Stew with fried plantains.

And finally, some pictures from the wedding! 

Keeping up with childhood friends.

Excited to be here!

Making new friends!

Working the dance floor.

Congratulations Adam and Courtney!

-Herr Cervelat